Archive for the ‘Crosley Hotshot’ tag

Crosleys don’t turn up at auction all that often, so seeing three of them cross the block at a single sale is indeed noteworthy. Factor in a pair of American Bantam Roadsters, and the net result is a full house of microcar goodness, to be offered by Peach Auction Sales at its upcoming September 12-13 Peach Classic.

The Crosley models to be offered include a 1939 Coupe convertible, a 1941 Pick-up Delivery, and a 1950 Hotshot, a model often described as “America’s first modern sports car.” Designed to be enjoyed on either road or track, the Hotshot roadster could be stripped of components like bumpers, windshield, canvas top, spare tire and even headlamps in a matter of minutes, shaving over 100 pounds from the car’s already low (1,095 pounds) curb weight. Though pitted against larger and faster cars, it was a Crosley Hotshot that captured victory at the very first Sam Collier Memorial Endurance Race in Sebring, Florida, and an American privateer team running a Hotshot may have realized an index of performance victory at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans had the car’s voltage regulator not failed.

1950 Crosley Hotshot.

The 1950 Crosley Hotshot to be sold in Georgia comes from the Gustov Ludwig collection (as do the other Crosleys and Bantams offered), and despite its last restoration dating to 1999, is described as a great driver with a near-perfect top and interior. Power comes from a 44-cu.in. four-cylinder CIBA (cast-iron block) overhead camshaft engine, rated at a conservative 26.5 horsepower, and other features include disc brakes, “aircraft type” seats and a “dropped frame” delivering a low center of gravity for superior handling.

1941 Crosley Pick-up Delivery.

Less is known about the 1941 Crosley Pick-up Delivery, which is said to sport a partial restoration and carries a Waukesha-built 35.39-cu.in two-cylinder engine rated at 13.5 horsepower. Originally designed to power an industrial sprayer used in fruit orchards, the air-cooled engine gave the Pick-up Delivery a maximum load capacity of 500 pounds, though a quarter-ton (as Crosley advertised for its delivery vehicles) probably sounded more impressive.

1939 Crosley Coupe Convertible.

The 1939 Crosley Coupe Convertible is likely the most pristine of the trio, and is described as nicely restored with a second-place award from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to its credit. As with the 1941 Pick-up Delivery, power comes from a 35.39-cu.in. two-cylinder engine mated to a three-speed manual transmission, which isn’t likely to deliver exemplary performance. The Crosley’s strength was affordability and fuel economy, and the company estimated that its vehicles would deliver up to 50 miles per gallon, along with a top speed of 50 miles per hour (though 40 MPH was the recommended cruising speed).

1939 American Bantam Roadster.

American Bantam was born from the 1934 bankruptcy of American Austin, and introduced its first reworked models in September 1937. Both American Bantam Roadster models to be offered are in show-ready condition, with the red and white 1939 Roadster described as a 2014 AACA Senior and Grand National winner and the tan 1940 roadster billed as an AACA National Senior winner. Power for either model comes from a 45-cu.in. four-cylinder engine rated at 22 horsepower, a gain of seven horsepower over the American Austin’s original 15 hp. While the additional output was surely welcomed by buyers, the ultimate reasoning behind the changes to the engine (which included a manifold redesign by the legendary Harry Miller) was to avoid paying the British Austin Motor Comapany $10 per car in royalties.

1940 American Bantam Roadster.

Like the Crosleys that followed them, American Bantam models were designed to be lightweight and fuel efficient, answering a question that few were asking in the prewar (or for that matter, postwar) years. By 1941, American Bantam had closed its doors for good, despite having designed and built the first successful Jeep prototype for the United States Army in 1940. Crosley soldiered on until mid-1952, despite sales that began a decline after the company’s best year, 1948, when 24,871 units were sold.

The Peach Classic sale will take place on September 12-13 in Byron, Georgia. For additional information, or to register to bid, visit PeachAuctionSales.com.

To be clear, the recipe used to craft the Crosley Hotshot was a familiar one, even when the diminutive roadster debuted on the U.S. market for the 1949 model year. Instead of adding a bigger engine to increase power, or reshaping the body for improved aerodynamics, the Crosley Hotshot followed a design philosophy that would later become the mantra of Lotus founder Colin Chapman: To increase speed and improve handling, simply add lightness.

With an overall length of 145 inches, a width of 51 inches and a weight of just 1,104 pounds in road-going trim, the Crosley Hotshot was practically microscopic by standards of the day. Its compact size meant that even a modest engine would produce acceptable performance, and although the four-cylinder engine beneath the hood displaced just 748 cc (45.6 cubic inches) and made a scant 26.5 horsepower, the Hotshot could reportedly run from 0-60 MPH in under 30 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 74 MPH. That was in stock trim, but set up for racing, with the windshield, bumpers, headlamps, spare tire and passenger seat removed, the Hotshot could cut this time considerably, with period accounts reporting a 20-second run to 60 MPH. Aftermarket tuning parts could drop this time even further while boosting the Hotshot’s top speed to 90 MPH or more.

Though Crosley subcompacts debuted in the prewar years, it was the postwar production that began to capture the eye of a public hungry for automobiles in the years following the Second World War. Powel Crosley’s ultimate goal was to make every car in America a two-car family, and his affordable, fuel-efficient cars seemed like they had a shot at achieving this. Then problems began to surface with the Crosley CoBra (Copper Brazed) engine, a compact and lightweight 724-cc (44-cubic-inch) engine made of pressed steel and featuring an integrated cylinder head with an overhead camshaft. Originally constructed for military applications (such as generators and compressors), the small engines were designed to have an operational life of 50 hours at a constant 5,000 RPM. Though changes were made to ensure better longevity in automotive applications, CoBra engines began to suffer corrosion and overheating issues, particularly when the coolant level was not monitored religiously.

This tarnished the reputation of Crosley automobiles, but Powel Crosley was not one to willingly accept defeat. Beginning with the 1949 model year, Crosley introduced a stouter engine, called the CIBA, for Cast Iron Block Assembly. As the name implies, the engine (which still featured an integrated cylinder head and an overhead camshaft) was now made from cast iron; equipped with five main bearings, the CIBA engine could be revved to 10,000 RPM without fear of damage, making it ideal for use in a compact sports car like the Hotshot. Despite the change in materials, engine weight did not increase significantly, and at 150 pounds dry, the cast-iron engine weighed just 12 pounds more than the pressed-steel version.

The Hotshot’s engine may have been advanced for the day, but its suspension was far from sophisticated. Up front, a solid front axle was sprung with a pair of semi-elliptic leaf springs and oil-filled shocks, while the rear suspension consisted of coil springs and shocks positioned by quarter-elliptical leaf springs. Wheels were just 12 inches in diameter, the same size used on less-sporting Crosley models, while rival MG equipped its TC sports roadster with 19-inch wheels to better withstand the rigors of competition (and to reduce heat buildup). The Hotshot did have one ace up its handling sleeve, at least in early production: disc brakes. Borrowing a technology developed for aircraft, Powel Crosley specified aluminum Goodyear-Hawley spot disc brakes on all four corners, giving the Hotshot a significant braking and fade-resistance advantage when compared to its competition. As it turned out, these functioned best in climates where winter was something you read about in the newspaper, like the Deep South. In areas where road salt and grit were used to stem the tide of ice and snow, the aluminum disc brakes had a propensity to corrode and seize, prompting a revision to four-wheel drum brakes on Hotshot models built for the 1951 and 1952 model years.

In 1950, Crosley released a deluxe version of the Hotshot as part of its “Super” series of automobiles. Originally called the Super Hotshot, the car eventually became known as the Crosley Super Sports, and included such amenities as a folding roof (as opposed to a roof that required construction of a frame to secure in place), a larger rear window, interior trim and (in most cases) a “flying bird” hood ornament. For the 1951 model year, the Super Sports introduced full doors and carried over the deluxe interior, and both Hotshot and Super Sports models were eventually available with the high-compression “Quicksilver” engine, which reportedly raised output to 30 horsepower.

Crosley Hotshot and Super Sports models quickly proved themselves in competition, and a Hotshot took the overall win at the inaugural Sam Collier Memorial Endurance Race in Sebring, Florida, in 1950. This was backed up by a victory in the Grand de la Suisse in 1951, along with a second-place finish in the 1951 Tokyo Grand Prix. A Hotshot entered by Briggs Cunningham a privateer team of Americans may have realized an index of performance win at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the car was forced out late in the race with a failed voltage regulator. Even at the club racing level, Crosley Hotshots became the car to have if you wanted to win races in SCCA competition, and Crosley-powered sports racers continued to be competitive long after the Hotshot faded from the scene.

And fade it did. Faced with mounting losses, Powel Crosley halted production of Crosley automobiles in July of 1952, and the company was quickly sold to General Tire. This later became Aerojet-General, which quickly divested itself of the tools and dies used to produce Crosley bodies, although the Crosley CIBA engine remained in production for industrial and marine applications through a string of owners into the early 1970s.

It’s probably fair to call the Hotshot America’s first postwar sports car, and its basic concept of simplification and weight savings was later embraced by everything from the Lotus 7 through the Mazda Miata. Most consider the Hotshot to be the first production American car with an overhead camshaft and caliper-type disc brakes, and it’s safe to say that it went on to influence later successful American sports cars, such as the Chevrolet Corvette. Though the Crosley Hotshot was never a commercial success, one can’t help wonder how the story would have been written if the car had been produced by a company with deeper pockets.